Christ said his coming would
bring not peace but a sword (see Matthew
10:34).
The Gospels offer no support for us if we fantasize about a
sunlit holiness that knows no problems.
Christ did not escape at the
last moment, though he did live happily ever after
—after a life of
controversy, problems, pain and frustration. St.
Hilary
(315?-368), like all saints,
simply had more of the same.

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"All
the ends of the earth shall
remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him" (Psalm 21:28)

Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. was born in 569 A.H. [1173
C.E.] in a town called "Aush" or Awash in Mawar-un-Nahar (Transoxania).
Khwaja Qutbuddin's r.a. original name was "Bakhtiyar" but his title was
"Qutbuddin". The name "Kaki" to his name was attributed to him by
virtue of a miracle that emanated from him at a later stage of his life
in Delhi.
He also belonged to the direct lineage of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
s.a.w.s., descending from Hazrat Imam Hussain r.a.. Hazrat Khwaja
Bakhtiyar Khaki r.a. was one and half years old when his father passed
away.
His mother arranged for him very good education and training.

When Hazrat Khwaja Mu'inuddin Chishti r.a. went to Isfahan, 40 days
before his demise, he took oath of allegiance at his hands and received
the Khilafat and Khirqah (Sufi cloak) from him. Thus, he was the first
spiritual successor of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Khwaja Mu'inuddin
Chishti r.a.
Thereafter, his spiritual master asked him to go to India and stay
there.

When Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. intended to kiss the feet of his
Pir-o-Murshid and seek his permission to depart, Hazrat Khwaja Sahib
understood it and asked him to be nearer, and when Khwaja Bakhtiyar
r.a. stepped up and fell at his Pir’s feet, Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a.
raised him up and embraced him affectionately. A Fateha was then
recited and Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a. advised his Murid: “Never turn your
face from the right path of Sufism and Truth. Prove yourself to be a
brave man in this Divine Mission.” When he again fell at the feet
of Khwaja Mu'inuddin r.a. overwhelmed with love and grief at this
tragic hour of parting, he was again raised and embraced affectionately
by his Pir-o-Murshid. Following this order, he went to Delhi and stayed
there.
It was the period of Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish.

Hardly twenty days had passed when news was brought by a messenger that
Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaaz r.a. disappeared into the eternal Divine
bliss of the Almighty Allah.

Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. used to offer 95 Rakats of Salah
[sections of prayer] during the 24 hours of day and night, along with
3000 Durud Sharifs [a part of prayer] every night upon the soul of the
Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. During the first 3 nights of his first marriage,
he could not maintain the Durud Sharif. The Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. sent
a visionary message to a pious person named Rais Ahmed, asking Hazrat
Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. the reasons for his not reciting the Durud Sharif.
Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. divorced his wife forthwith as a mark of
repentance and thereafter broke off all worldly ties and devoted his
full time to the devotion of Almighty Allah and the Holy Prophet
s.a.w.s.

It is narrated that in the early stages of his life, Hazrat Khwaja
Qutbuddin r.a. would take a nap, but in the last part of his life he
kept awake all the time. He had also committed the Quran to memory and
used to recite and finish it twice daily.
Whenever anything came to his Khanqah, he quickly distributed these to
the poor and needy. If there were nothing, he would request his
attendants and mureeds to distribute plain water as a humble token of
his hospitality.

Sheikh Nur Bux has written in his book entitled"Silsila tuz'zah":
"Bakhtiyar Aushi was a great devotee, mystic and friend of Allah. In
private and public he was indulged in the remembrance of Allah. He was
habituated to eat little, sleep little and speak little. He was a
towering personality in the world of mysticism."

He had no parallel in abandoning the world and suffering poverty and
hunger. He kept himself engrossed in the remembrance of Allah. Whenever
someone came to him he would come back to his senses after a while and
was then able to talk with him. After a very brief exchange he would
show his inability to continue any longer and slipped into the same
state of absorption once again.

Once Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. was coming back with his relatives
and disciples after offering Eid Salah [Eid prayers] that he, all on a
sudden, halted at a place in silence. After a while his relatives
submitted: "Today is the Eid day. Many people would be awaiting his
arrival.” Having heard this Hazrat Khwaja r.a. came out of his lost
state and uttered, “From this piece of land I have the smell of the
perfect men.”

Thereafter, he came home and after the meal was over, he asked the
people to call the owner of the land to him. When the owner came to
him, he purchased that piece of land from him.
Later, Hazrat Bakhtiyar r.a. was buried in the same soil.

Death also came to him in an unusual manner. It is stated that once in
an assembly of Sama [religious music] he happened to hear a verse of
Hazrat Ahmad Jam with the meaning:

"Those who are killed with the
dagger of surrender and pleasure get a new life from the Unseen."

Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. was so much absorbed in and inspired
with this verse that from that day on he kept on reciting it in a state
of unconsciousness and gave his life in the same state. He remained in
this state of Wajd for 3 consecutive days and expired on the 4th day.
He passed away on the 14th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 633 A.H. On account of his
extraordinary death, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kak ir.a. is
known as "Shahid-e-Mohabbat" or Martyr of Allah's Love.